THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
But where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' downhere in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

Title track of the The Ghost Of Tom Joad, the album that won the 1997 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Played during The Ghost Of Tom Joad and Reunion tours. Also appeared during The Rising and Devils & Dust tours.

Released on singles in 1995, 1996, and 1997 with STRAIGHT TIME (09 Dec 1995), SINALOA COWBOYS (09 Dec 1995), DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (09 Dec 1995), MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER, ONE STEP UP, NEBRASKA, SECRET GARDEN, MISSING, HIGH HOPES, and others...

Available on:

1. The Ghost Of Tom Joad (track 1)
2. The Essential Bruce Springsteen (disc 2- track 10)